I can still recall the anxiety and helplessness of the moment. I felt itchy all over and extremely restless. I couldn't control myself. As the doctor entered my room I grabbed onto him, begging him for the morphine I so desperately as a patient needed.

At JSUMC experiencing extreme unexplained abdominal pain I was placed on morphine around the clock for several days. When I was taken off morphine I went into a mini withdrawal. I was going out of my mind. I can still recall blasting music on my earphones trying so desperately to shake the feeling away. That all changed when my nurse walked into the room. My nurse went to his computer and printed out coloring pictures. He came to me with crayons and coloring paper, placed his arm around me, and colored with me. “We need to take a less physiological approach to this”, he said. It was so childish yet so brilliant. After coloring for an hour I felt so much better. My nurse was my hero. It made me realize, to make a difference, you don't need to have a cape. Just a smile and a helping hand can change the world for someone else. After that day I was and am determined to be like my nurse, and to pay it forward.

Joining the HMH Georgian Court ABSN program is an exciting step in my life and I look forward to a quick and successful completion. Moving forward it is my dream to practice nursing at HMH and continue carrying the torch that my nurse, Nico, so proudly carries.